Laylatul Qadr in the Heavens and the Graves | The Other Side: Barzakh and Beyond Ep. 27
What happens in the heavens and the graves on Laylatul Qadr?
The angels fill the skies, and destinies are written. The living pray for mercy, while the dead long for one more chance. But this night isn’t just for us—its blessings reach beyond. Your du’a can lift the souls of those who have passed, just as it can change your fate. Allahumma innaka ‘afuwwun, tuhibbul ‘afwa, fa’fu ‘anna—don’t forget to include them in the "us."
NOTE: All depictions of Barzakh are purely conceptual and only vocals were used in the making of the soundtrack.
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References
- Yahya ibn Mu'adh (ra) said: “O heedless one! O ignorant one! If you could hear the scratching of the pens upon the Preserved Tablet as they record your name each time you remember your Master, you would die from longing to meet Him.” [Al-Isfahani, Hilyat al-Awliya’]
- Ibn al-Jawzi said: “By Allah, if the inhabitants of the graves were asked to make a single wish, they would wish for just one more day of Ramadan.” [Ibn al-Jawzi, At-Tabsirah]
- The Prophet ﷺ said: “When one of you dies, his place is shown to him morning and evening. If he is among the people of Paradise, then he is shown his place in Paradise, and if he is among the people of Hell, then he is shown his place in Hell. It is said to him, ‘This is your seat until Allah resurrects you on the Day of Judgment.’” [Sahih al-Bukhari #1379; Sahih Muslim #2866]
- Abu al-Tayyah [Yazid ibn Humayd al-Basri] narrated that: “Mutarrif ibn Abdullah used to spend time in the open lands, but when Friday came, he would set out early. One night, as he was returning and passed by the graveyard, he dozed off on his horse and saw a vision: the inhabitants of the graves were sitting upon their graves. They said, ‘This is Mutarrif, who comes on Fridays.’ I asked, ‘Do you recognize Friday where you are?’ They replied, ‘Yes, and we even know what the birds say on that day.’ I asked, ‘What do they say?’ They answered, ‘They say: Salaam, salaam, on a blessed day.’” [Al-Bayhaqi, Shu’ab al-Iman]
- Ibn Abbas (ra) mentions that the dream of Yusuf (as), in which the sun, moon, and stars prostrated to him, occurred on Laylatul Qadr. [Tafsir al-Mawardi]
- Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said: “When the month of Ramadan comes, the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are closed, and the devils are chained.” [Sahih al-Bukhari #3277; Sahih Muslim #1079]
- Ibn al-Jawzi mentions that scholars have given five explanations for why Laylatul Qadr was given its name. Among them is the view of Abu Bakr al-Warraq, who said: “On this night, those who were previously insignificant attain qadr (i.e. great value and worth) through their devotion.” [Ibn al-Jawzi, At-Tabsirah]
- Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah draws a connection between Laylatul Qadr and the Night of Isra. He said, “The Night of Isra is superior for the Prophet ﷺ due to what he witnessed and received, whereas Laylatul Qadr is superior for the ummah because of the immense blessings they receive on that night.” [Ibn Taymiyyah, Majmu’ al-Fatawa]
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings.Tonight may be the night that the angels descend with peace, and your prayers ascend with power. Laylatul Qadr, the night of power, the night of decree, the night of Allah's mercy descending upon you and me. It's the night that is greater than a thousand months, an entire lifetime. And if the deceased wished they could have one more minute to pray a quick two rak'as on an ordinary day, how much more do they wish they could have another shot at Laylatul Qadr? But you're still here, and many of them are depending on your du'as for them. But what does it look like on the other side of that barrier? One of the reasons for the name Laylatul Qadr is because the heavens are pushed to their qadr, to their full capacity. There's a traffic jam of angels going between the heavens that's so powerful it could literally steal the light of the sun. And as they're descending upon masjids and homes reporting back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, it's all salaam, peace until fajr. And if we could hear our names in the scrolls of forgiveness, how much would we wish we were on that side? Yahya bin Mu'adh (rahimahullah) said, يَا غَفُولُ يَا جَهُولُ O heedless one, O ignorant one, لو سَمِعْتَ صَرِيرَ الْأَقْلَامِ فِي الْلَوْحِ الْمَحْفُوظِ وَهِيَ تَكْتُبُ إِسْمَكَ عِندَ ذِكْرِكَ لِمَوْلَاكِ لَمِتَّ شَوْقًا إِلَى مَوْلَاكِ If you could hear the sound of the pens in the preserved tablet writing down your name every time you remember your master, you would die from longing to meet your master. May Allah grant us the gift of seeing it written down when we get there and meeting him while
he's pleased with us. Imagine how many people that strove in the past are now looking at a Laylatul Qadr from their graves from over a thousand years ago and it still makes them smile. Imam Ibn Al-Jawzi (rahimahullah) said, وَاللَّهِ If it were said to the inhabitants of the graves, make any wish, they would wish for another day of Ramadan. If that's the case, how much more do you think they wish for the last ten nights? But that's their past observances of Laylatul Qadr. How about now? Do the people in the graves even know when it's Laylatul Qadr? Now we already know there's a concept of time in the Barzakh. As Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the Quran when referring to the punishment of Fir'aun, they are exposed to the fire morning and evening. And the Prophet (ﷺ) said that everyone is shown their eventual place in heaven and hell every morning and every evening. We also know they have a grasp on world events as they receive deeds presented to them from their loved ones and they hear about the world from the new souls that enter into that realm. And we have the narrations that speak about how eager they are to ask about the people still in this dunya. So do they feel blessed times like we do here? There are many scholars like Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullah) who assert that the souls of the believers congregate every Jum'ah just like we do here. And this has been corroborated by many dreams. And we know that Jum'ah is a blessed time even in Jannah. So one of the first chapters of Kitab al-Ruh, he titles it, What do the birds utter during the day of Jum'ah? And there's a narration that Mutarrif (rahimahullah) had a habit of visiting the graveyard every Jum'ah in the early mornings. And on one of those visits, he dozed off on his horse at the gate of the cemetery. Then he saw a vision of all of the souls sitting on top of their graves saying, Oh Mutarrif who comes to us every Jum'ah. And then he looked up and he saw birds flying all around and chirping beautifully.
So he asked the souls, what are the birds saying? And the souls said, they're saying, Salaam, Salaam, a blessed day. So surely on this night when the angels are saying Salaam, Salaam, there must be something, right? Al-Imam al-Dhahak (rahimahullah) comments on the ayah, Salaamun hiya hatta matla'il fajr, by saying that Allah does not decree anything on this night except with Salaam, except with tranquility and everything being free of harm. To the point that laa yihilu li kawkabin an yurjan bihi feehaa hatta tusbih. That even the comets and meteors are not allowed to pelt any of the shayateen until the morning. All the worlds witness a pause, a moment of relief from the trials and the evil of the shayateen. Even dreams can be pure that night. Abdullah ibn Abbas (رضي الله عنهما) says that the dream of Yusuf (alayhi as-salam) where he saw the sun, the moon, and the stars prostrating to him happened on Laylatul Qadr. So in the other realms, this has to be a night of blessing and relief, even if in ways we can't possibly grasp. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that when Ramadan comes the gates of hellfire are shut and the gates of paradise are flung open. What does that mean for those who are already living in chambers of hell or gardens of Jannah? Or for those who have a window to the other destination? We would hope that more souls are moved over to salvation that night. And it might be that our salvation becomes made apparent that night as well. And Imam Ibn al-Jawzi says that one of the reasons it's called Laylatul Qadr is that those who had no worth by observing Laylatul Qadr become people of Qadr, meaning people of great value and worth. So perhaps on that night our worth in the eyes of Allah changes and we're switched from the scrolls of the wicked to the scrolls of the righteous. And in that process everything else that we do becomes so much more consequential,
especially our du'as. I want you to sit with this analogy to Laylatul Qadr. Remember how Laylatul Isra, the night journey of the Prophet (ﷺ) changed everything for him? And Imam Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullah) connects these two special nights together. He says the night of Isra is superior with respect to the Prophet (ﷺ) because of what he saw and received that night. While the night of Qadr is superior for the Ummah for what they received that night. So Laylatul Isra was where the Prophet (ﷺ) entered and interacted into the realm of the Barzakh. From being with the Prophets in Al-Aqsa to being with the highest angels to witnessing the very scenes of reward and punishment we talk about today, then getting to speak to Allah the Most High. What a night of access it was for our Prophet (ﷺ). Laylatul Qadr is the Ummah's Laylatul Isra where we get to undertake a night journey to Allah, where we recite the words of Allah all night and we have the angels all around us elevating our deeds to the throne. And just like the Prophet (ﷺ) interceded on behalf of all whom he loves on that night of Isra, we intercede on behalf of all of our loved ones dead or alive on the night of Laylatul Qadr. Remember that father who told his son, don't stop sending your gifts to us in the form of dua. He specifically said, oh my son, ask Allah to grant us al-afwa wal-ghufran, his pardon and his forgiveness. So when you're asking Allah, Allahumma innaka afuwwun tuhibbu al-afwa fa'fu anna, oh Allah, you are the pardoner, you love to pardon, so pardon us, make sure you're including them in that us part as well. And if this world is a stage and we're all performing in front of the unseen for unseen rewards of our own, Laylatul Qadr is the greatest night of them all.
And how blessed when you get to see all of what it did for you and everyone else that you love in the Barzakh.
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